♦ This week's news in brief ♦

December 6 - 2017DABANGA SUDAN

A compact weekly digest of Dabanga Sudan's highlights of the news from Darfur and Sudan

♦ 'War on press': Sudan security halts three newspapers

December 5 - 2017 KHARTOUM The three newspapers that have been confiscated several times last week, were seized from the printing presses again yesterday, in the security service’s fierce campaign against newspapers. A total of eighteen newspapers newspapers were seized in the past two weeks.

On Monday, the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) confiscated print-runs of El Jareeda, El Tayyar and Akhir Lahza. The security apparatus gave no reasons for the action. The Sudanese Journalists’ Network has announced to go on strike against the repeated confiscations and called on colleagues to join them. El Midan newspaper will not publish today in solidarity with the confiscated newspapers.
On Thursday morning, the same three newspapers and El Watanwere also seized, while all four already witnessed confiscations of their print-runs earlier last week. El Tayyar editor-in-chief, Osman Mirghani, considered that the biggest loss is the readers’ lack of access to newspapers during these days of repeated confiscations. The successive confiscations cost each newspaper more than SDG 100,000 ($15,000) a day.

In previous weeks, newsrooms and journalists in Sudan spoke out against draft amendments to the 2009 Press Act which may further restrict press freedom. The amendments include limitations on the electronic press' freedom, similar to the restrictions already imposed on the traditional press.

December 4 - 2017 BLUE NILE The rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) claims to have killed several government troops and captured materiel during an attack on their forces in Blue Nile state. On Friday the movement's spokesman, Mubarak Ardol, reported the attack on sites in Kaker area, north-west of Bau locality, in a press statement. He claimed that four government troops were killed, and others wounded. The SPLM-N considered the attack “a blatant and flagrant violation of the cessation of hostilities”.

In October, the administration of President Donald Trump lifted old economic sanctions on Sudan to recognise the Government of Sudan's sustained positive actions to maintain a cessation of hostilities in conflict areas in Sudan, improve humanitarian access throughout Sudan, and maintain cooperation with the US on addressing regional conflicts and the threat of terrorism”.

Meanwhile Sudanese pastoralists who have returned to El Tadamon locality, north of Bau, face a deteriorating security situation, resulting from militia activity on the border with South Sudan. The pastorilists were refugees, but most of them have returned to Bout after fleeing to South Sudan. They called Radio Dabanga to complain about the security service's restrictions on goods coming out of the town. Especially the areas bordering South Sudan are insecure because of the presence of South Sudanese militias in Goz El Mafaza.